Ep 30. The Autonomic Nervous System and Its Effects on Heart Rhythm

In this episode, we will be speaking with Dr. Victoria Claydon on the Autonomic Nervous System and fainting spells (or syncopal episodes) and whether, in rare cases, it can contribute to irregular heart beats associated with a phenomenon known as “autonomic conflict”.Dr. Victoria Claydon is a professor in the Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology at Simon Fraser University (SFU). She earned her B.Sc. (Hons) in Physiology in 1998 and completed her Ph.D. in Cardiovascular Physiology in 2001. Dr. Claydon leads the Cardiovascular Physiology Laboratory at SFU, where her research focuses on cardiovascular physiology and pathophysiology, with particular interests in cerebrovascular control, the autonomic nervous system, spinal cord injury, and syncope.